Forging Immortality: The Undying Blacksmith

Chapter 46: A Perfect Complement

The dead of a late winter night. A hooded figure in black cut a path through the thick snow, the faint moonlight casting a pale glow on his solitary journey to the blacksmith’s door.

*Thump. Thump. Thump.*

“Master Li? I’ve come for the blade, as agreed.”

The one who opened the door was not Li Qing, but his apprentice, Qi Kang.

“The master finished it,” Qi Kang said, hefting a long, fine iron blade with noticeable effort. “See how it feels. See if it suits you.”

The craftsmanship was exquisite. From the texture of the steel to the subtle patterns forged into its surface, the blade spoke of a master’s painstaking dedication.

The moment Zhong Hui took the weapon, his eyes lit with delight. He ran a reverent hand along the blade’s spine, the cold steel a satisfying weight in his grip. He couldn’t put it down.

The stark moonlight caught the edge, glinting with a frigid white light that seemed to bleed the remaining warmth from the air.

This was a killer’s edge.

“Thank you,” Zhong Hui said, his voice heavy with sincerity. “Tell your master I will have the rest of the silver for him within a few days.”

“Alright.” Qi Kang nodded.

With no more to be said, Zhong Hui turned and left, the blade in hand, heading directly for the southern city gate.

South of Shengtian City lay a rugged mountain range that snaked its way from east to west. The terrain was treacherous and unforgiving. It was called Xiaocui Ridge, and though its name meant ‘Little Green’, it was anything but small. The range was a massive barrier to north-south trade, forcing most of Feng Country’s commerce to flow east and west.

Inside the smithy, Qi Kang watched until Zhong Hui’s silhouette vanished down the street, his own gaze hardening with resolve.

He turned.

With a soft thud, he knelt before the door to Li Qing’s room and pressed his forehead to the cold ground three times.

*Thump. Thump. Thump.*

After the third kowtow, Qi Kang rose to his feet. He walked out of the blacksmith shop without a moment’s hesitation.

The winter moon cast a cold light, and as Qi Kang stepped into it, he felt a matching chill settle in his heart.

*Master, thank you for everything. But I can’t spend my life as a mediocre blacksmith. I want to learn Peerless martial arts. I want to change this world!*

And so, on the snow-covered expanse of Chiming Street, a second set of footprints began its long journey away from the forge.

***

In a room at the back of the shop, a blazing furnace radiated a welcome warmth, holding the bitter cold at bay.

Li Qing, who had been lying on his bed with his eyes closed, opened them. He’d heard everything. He had known what was in the boy’s heart for weeks.

“Knew the boy was restless,” Li Qing sighed to himself. “Damn. Now I have to find another sharp apprentice.”

He had watched Qi Kang change from a wide-eyed kid into a silent, brooding youth who kept his thoughts locked away. *That’s what happens when someone gets a real look at how the world works,* he thought.

For a moment, he almost regretted being so blunt with the boy. Who’d have thought a dose of reality would send him running off on some crusade?

“Everyone has their own path,” he murmured into the quiet room. “What can I do to change it?”

Li Qing lit the oil lamp by his bed and pulled out a scroll bound in dark gold.

Golden Body Art!

He’d had the manual for a while but never found the time to study it. Now, with winter ending and his own progress stalling, he couldn’t put it off any longer. Since breaking into the Outer Force realm, his advancement had slowed to a crawl. He was nowhere near touching the threshold of Inner Force. If he wanted to get stronger, faster, he needed another art—especially one that focused on hardening the body.

“This Golden Body Art is no joke,” he muttered, reading the text. “You’d need a solid foundation just to reach the Novice level. The first layer requires holding a single posture, motionless, using a mental technique to imagine yourself as a stone statue…”

A normal person would be crippled by numbness in minutes, their blood and qi seizing up. The later stages sounded even worse—brutal physical torment that took years to endure.

Finishing the scroll, Li Qing let out a dry chuckle. No wonder some of these ‘superior’ martial arts ended up propping up table legs.

But for a technique that promised such incredible defense when mastered, he was willing to try. Complaining wouldn’t make him tougher.

He settled into the prescribed posture on his bed, then went perfectly still.

Time bled away. The frantic energy in his blood and qi settled, his heartbeat slowing to a steady, rhythmic thump. His Outer Force physique easily handled the strain, the immense vitality in his blood preventing the stiffness and numbness that would have crippled a lesser man.

He lost all track of time, his entire consciousness sinking inward, focused solely on the subtle shifts within his own body.

Then, his breathing deepened, stretching into long, slow cycles. It wasn’t a conscious act; his body simply fell into the rhythm on its own.

A rhythm that felt strangely familiar.

After what felt like an eternity, a jolt shot through his mind.

“This is… the Turtle Breath Technique?!”

To his astonishment, he realized the Turtle Breath Technique was running in the background, perfectly synchronized with the Golden Body Art. There was no conflict at all. In fact, they seemed to be… complementary. Each one strengthened the other.

*But that’s impossible. One is an external martial art, the other is internal. They have nothing in common…*

The only link he could think of was that both took a lifetime to master. An ordinary person would be ancient before seeing any real results.

This synergy was an unexpected boon.

He hadn’t abandoned the Turtle Breath Technique for no reason. The progress was glacial. He’d practiced for ages without cultivating a single wisp of inner energy. In contrast, arts like the Fierce Tiger True Intent Diagram had given him tangible power, pushing him into the Outer Force realm. So he’d shelved it, focusing on external arts that offered immediate strength and the ability to protect himself.

Here in Shengtian City, the immediate threats were fewer.

“Since it can be practiced with the Golden Body Art,” he thought, a rare flicker of excitement stirring within him, “I can finally pick up the Turtle Breath Technique again!”

With that thought, Li Qing reined in his excitement, sinking his mind back into the profound stillness of his cultivation and embracing the miraculous state once more.